Tear Drops
by mew-tsubaki
Summary: Oneshot. Because when he saw her that way, beautiful Rose snapped at the stem, James felt he had to do something. *2011 Xmas pressie for Bethie*


**Tear Drops**

A HariPo oneshot

by mew-tsubaki

Note: The _Harry Potter_ characters belong to J. K. Rowling, not me. This fic is a Christmas present for my good pal, **matt-smiths** (or **EllaBethh**, depending on her mood ;] ). It's all your fault, getting me addicted to cousincest! For everyone else: read, review, and enjoy! *Note: The prompt of _**crying**_ came from **xXKissingSinXx**'s "100 Prompts" challenge in the HPFC; it's one of my fav chals since it's so helpful! :]

**hoHOhoHOho**

He first heard her crying after he and his mates had escaped detention for the fourth time that day.

James had come around the corner only to find his two-years-younger cousin, Rose, sitting on the bottom step of one of the staircases in the hall of the moving staircases. Her presence surprised him more than anything, and only after was he stunned to find her in such a dangerous spot. "Rosie?" he croaked, his voice cracking from shock.

Rose picked up her head and glared at the seventh year. "Oh, Merlin, James…" She sighed in such a just-my-luck manner that James couldn't help feeling a tad affronted.

He fidgeted. Well, if no teacher had come at him yet, then it was probably okay to pause… James decided to do the right thing and strode over to her and knelt down. "Hey, Rosie…"

"Stop calling me that," she spat. Up close, he could see that the whites of her eyes were as red as her hair from all the crying she'd done.

The sight bothered James. Rose rarely cried—often she thought she had better things to do when her feelings were hurt—so whatever had happened had to have been pretty bad. "Rose, what happened?"

"I'd rather not say."

"Rose, you're on the bottom stair here—and you know as well as I do that if you don't move, then you'll plummet to your ridiculously stupid death."

"Gee, you sure do know how to cheer up a girl, James."

James grimaced and sat beside her, the stairs be damned. "Rose Maybelle Weasley…"

Rose paused before giving him the tiniest of smiles. "I'm stunned anyone even remembers my middle name."

"Well—it's pretty, isn't it?" he said dumbly.

"You ask as though it's a question, James." That came with a smirk.

Hey, a smirk was better than rabbit-red eyes, James supposed. "Doesn't it mean something?"

Rose took a breath and cupped her cheek in her palm as she leaned her elbows on her knees. "It's a version of _ma belle_—French for 'my girl.' It's Mum's nod to Aunt Fleur, I think. Which is ridiculous. We're British, not French. What's so good about being part-French anyway…?" The last bit came out as something like a snarl.

"Tell me what happened."

"Apparently, being part-French is all it's cracked up to be," the redheaded witch growled. "Because when you're part-French, you've got the blonde hair and the pale brown eyes and the creamy skin that hesitates ever to freckle—"

"Blonde hair and brown eyes—you mean Dominique?" James inquired. Of course, now that she had been mentioned, a vague memory hit him, one of a pretty good day at the Burrow back around Christmas that was only a little weird because Rose and Dominique weren't as chummy as usual…

Rose cursed a curse that would've had her father blushing, so James was sure he'd hit the target. "She's been seeing Scorpius behind my back for months now."

"But I thought you and Scorpius were…"

"We were! Which is why I'm so bloody angry!" Rose huffed and crossed her arms in front of her chest, staring at one of the portraits on the wall. Even though she tried to look aggravated, James could see that she was fighting a fresh wave of tears. Which bothered the house-elf out of him.

Where did Malfoy get off? Huh? Well? Where did Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy get off doing such a thing to such a sweet girl as Rose? And she was pretty, too! Sure, Rose wasn't as smart as her mum—she was sportier, like her dad—but Rose was vibrant and fun and… James grimaced again. No one could treat Rosie that way and get away with it.

Suddenly, James stood, which got Rose's attention. "James, what's wrong?"

He looked down at Rose…and his breath hitched. How could Malfoy leave _this_ beautiful witch for another? And then a voice nagged James in the back of his mind, reminding him that they were _cousins_…but did that matter when James was only admiring her like this?

Admiring. Uh, right.

"I'll be back, Rosie," he promised. He kissed the top of her head and tussled her hair—which elicited a begrudging, blushing glare from her—before turning back the way from which he'd come.

His intent had been to locate Malfoy and maybe kill him. Finding him came first, and James accepted the help of his mates, Troy and Curt, in locating the Slytherin. When James and his mates split up, James went for the covered bridge, which was a good distance away from the hall of the moving staircases. And if James was trying to escape an angry ex, then he'd go there or maybe the Viaduct.

As it turned out, Scorpius was nowhere to be found, so James tried his second option. He went into the courtyard that branched off from the Viaduct…and lo and behold, there was Scorpius. He was sitting with Dominique, and the two of them were talking quietly and holding hands.

All at once, James felt the swelling urge to hex Scorpius then and there and he even began stomping towards them… But when he got closer, some of his heat drained out of him. Scorpius and Dominique looked rather…_happy_. And though James would never say it aloud, James thought neither of them had looked happier. He turned, frustrated, to return to Rose.

But Scorpius saw him. "Oh, James?"

James' left eye twitched. Regardless, he casually turned as though nothing was the matter. "Oh. Scorpius."

Scorpius left Dominique on the bench and jogged to catch up to him. "Hey…um, if you see Rose…tell her no hard feelings, okay? I mean, she might… Well, she knows…" He gestured to Dominique.

"Oh, sure, Scorpius."

"Really?"

"_Yeah_, sure thing…"

"You're a lifesaver, James. I owe you one." And even though he looked sincerely grateful, hearing those words from Scorpius just sent James over the edge, because the next thing they all knew, James was no longer talking to Scorpius.

Instead, James was now grinning at a floating white ferret currently besieged by a rather brilliant Bat-Bogey Hex. It was a nice piece of magic, really.

But when the eldest Potter heard his cousin's shriek of horror and heard the pounding of footsteps—one set which he'd always be able to pick out as Headmistress McGonagall's—the blood from James' face drained and he made a dash for the castle.

It was spectacular, how quickly he sprinted back to Rose, who was utterly stunned when he came to a screeching halt in front of her.

"Where were you? And why are you panting?" she demanded.

He blinked as he caught his breath, and he locked eyes with her… Yeah. He understood a little bit why he wanted to kill Scorpius Malfoy. And why he still wanted to do so. He pecked Rose's cheek and smiled. "I just got into a lot of trouble for you, Rosie."

"What do you mean?"

"You really shouldn't date little white ferrets."

Even as the truth dawned, Rose didn't seem angry. Instead, she laughed and jumped up, throwing her arms around James' neck. "Oh, you ruddy idiot…" And then she kissed him. On the lips. Which didn't seem as bad as Transfiguring Scorpius Malfoy into a white ferret.

On the other hand, James could hear the stampede of the hunt for him, so without thinking he picked Rose up in his arms and carried her up several flights of stairs.

But at least when she was crying this time, it was because she was laughing so hard at James' antics. She had been thoroughly cheered up.

(Yeah, and James would just think of that awkward kiss thingy and just…yeah…let's let him daydream about it, shall we? Yeah…)

**hoHOhoHOho**

**XDDD This was so much fun to write! Especially since I was thinking that the tears have now dropped from her face…hence the title. ;3 And I couldn't decide about having James turned the other cheek or hexing Scor…so I did both. Obviously, Scorminique was thrown in for you as well, Bethie. I just hoped you enjoyed my interpretation of JamesRose—which kind of gave them a "start" then really diving into a JamesRose pairing… -w- And yeah, Troy and Curt are 2 of my OCs (though some readers of my other fics will recognize them).**

**Well, hope you liked it and happy Christmas, Beth!**

**As for the rest of you lot, please review!**

**-mew-tsubaki :}**


End file.
